This invention relates generally to masonry construction, and more particularly to devices for spacing masonry elements, for reinforcing masonry construction, and for tying the masonry construction to an adjacent structure.
In constructing masonry structures, masonry elements, such as brick, block, or stone, are laid in rows known as courses, and the joints between adjacent elements are filled with mortar, grout, or other bonding or sealing material which secures adjacent elements together. It is desirable that the masonry elements be uniformly spaced, both for the sake of the appearance of the completed construction as well as to insure that the joints contain sufficient mortar or other material to hold the elements securely together. Obtaining uniform joints requires considerable skill and experience on the part of the workman and depends on his ability to judge the amount of material required between elements so that the joints have uniform thickness. This is complicated by the fact that some settling and exuding of mortar from joints may occur due to the weight of the masonry elements in higher courses.
Devices are known which may be placed in the wet mortar of masonry joints for uniformly spacing adjacent masonry elements. However, such known devices suffer from a number of disadvantages. Typically, they are formed to be used with a particular type of masonry element, such as brick or block, and with a standard size element, and the devices are not readily adaptable for use with other types or sizes of masonry elements. Moreover, even when used with the same type of masonry element, different sized devices are often required depending upon whether they are to be used between the sides of the elements, between the ends of the elements, or with different sized elements of the same type, e.g., half brick or half block. The need for different sizes and types of spacer devices is both inconvenient and expensive.
It is also desirable in masonry construction to employ reinforcing to tie the masonry elements together and afford added strength. Typically, this is accomplished by laying long lengths of reinforcing elements, such as rods or wire grids, in the wet mortar between every third or fourth course, for example. Known reinforcing elements also have disadvantages, including the necessity for forming or shaping the elements in accordance with the length and the shape of the course, and the necessity of wiring or otherwise tying the reinforcing elements together if connection between adjacent reinforcing elements is desired. In some instances, it is also desirable to tie a masonry construction to an adjacent structure, as, for example, tying a brick veneer outer wall to an inner wooden wall. Reinforcing elements or other specially formed devices may be employed for this purpose. However, this requires either specially shaping and sizing the reinforcing element so that it may project from a joint to enable it to be secured to the adjacent structure, which is laborious and time consuming, or requires that a supply of these specially formed tie devices be maintained, which is inconvenient.
It is desirable to provide a masonry construction device which avoids these and other disadvantages of known masonry construction devices, and it is to this end that the present invention is directed.